DOKSE. - 67 



The comnmnication which follows is from a gentleman who 

 has made himself known to naturalists by the name of Piscator. 



"Launceston, September 7th., 1843. 



"Dear Sir, — "Whilst observing a man who was casting his 

 line from the rocks near Boscastle yesterday, I perceived him 

 draw on shore a small species of Cod, about six or seven 

 inches long, different from any of the Cod tribe I had before 

 seen, but exactly answering the description and the plate of 

 the Dorse, or Variable Cod, in the second volume of Mr. 

 Yarrell's "British Fishes," except that instead of being spotted, 

 as there described, it was of a dark coppery tinge we so often 

 see in young Whiting Pollacks when caught on rocky ground. 

 At a first glance indeed I thought it was a small Pollack, 

 till the short lower jaw and beard below instantly pointed 

 out a distinct species. The eyes were large, irides of a golden 

 hue, the pupils intensely black and sharp, and remarkably 

 brilliant; the nose is prominent, projecting a little beyond the 

 upper jaw, like that of the Haddock; the under jaw short; 

 the upper part above the lateral line of a deep chocolate 

 cast, assuming a coppery tinge along the sides, and becoming 

 much paler towards the belly; the lateral line very distinctly 

 marked and silvery, rising in a curve over the pectoral fin, 

 then descending and passing in a straight line to the tail. 

 Caudal fin square at the end, of a darker colour, assuming a 

 dusky tinge, as indeed were all the fins. I have been thus 

 particular in my description, which so far corresponds with 

 that of Mr. Yarrell, that I have no doubt but that it is the 

 same identical Dorse as described by him. The colour, we all 

 know, of fishes inhabiting rocky ground can never be relied 

 much upon, and varies exceedingly in different specimens taken 

 even in the same spot. I considered this communication might 

 not be uninteresting to you, more particulai'ly as Mr. Yarrell 

 mentions that the authority upon which the Dorse was originally 

 introduced seems now to be c|uestionable, though it is well 

 known in the Baltic, and frequently called the Baltic Cod. 

 But from the juvenile appearance of the specimen I had an 

 opportunity of seeing, there can be little doubt that it was a 

 native of our own coasts. Mr. Yarrell menfions he had never 

 seen a specimen. I wish I had thought of preserving mine in 



